Ian Schrager’s Public Hotel Officially Takes its Place in the Bowery Skyline

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​Ian Shrager’s phallus is now officially a member of the Bowery skyline. Set to rise a whopping total of twenty-four stories, the new Public Hotel/boutique condo has already ascended more than half that height. In fact, it’s surpassed the former Avalon Chrystie on the northern flank, as previously reported.

Now the concrete skeleton is clearly visible behind another neighborhood latecomer – the Sperone Westwater Gallery – and has passed it, too. Precisely what the gallery wanted to avoid, and the basis for futile legal proceedings nearly three years ago. You’ll recall that Sperone had sued to keep the hotel-condo from happening, arguing that the Board of Standards and Appeals failed to properly assess the environmental impact of such a large construction in this area. That didn’t go so well, though, and the case was tossed.

So, luxury Public Hotel it is, located directly behind 10 Stanton Street, currently a voluntary section 8 building participant.

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Here on the east side of the Bowery, there are no height restrictions like there are across the street. That’s why one side is so out-of-context with the other. Those properties across the way reside in the Special Little Italy District which caps building heights at 85 feet. The Bowery Alliance of Neighbors has been fighting that battle for similar protections on the east side for many years (“East Bowery Preservation Plan”), but without results.

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